This Friday, shoppers all over the city,
county and nation are expected to fill
retail stores, taking advantage of the
retailers’ major sales as they get started
on their Christmas shopping.
Black Friday is typically the biggest
single shopping day of the year, but in
a recession, it may be harder for some
to justify purchasing much — even at
heavily discounted prices.

Thomasville resident Angela Wood
said that she wants to take advantage
of the Black Friday sales, but she may
not have the money to shop.
“It’s been really tough, especially with
my husband being the only one working, and he has to work according to the
weather,” Wood said. “I’m unemployed
right now, unfortunately. I’ve been looking for a job, but it’s hard, because in
our financial situation, we don’t have a
computer. Everybody wants to do everything online, and we’re not there yet.”

Wood said that she has gone shopping
on Black Friday before and doesn’t like
the crowds, but she goes to buy items
while they are on sale.
“I hate crowds, but I know I’ve got to
do what I’ve got to do sometimes,” she
said.
Carol Foley, also of Thomasville, said
that fighting the holiday crowd has become too much for her.
“It ain’t worth it,” Foley said. “I just
do my shopping before then, and after
everybody else calms down.”

Parade kicks off holiday season

She said she went shopping on Black
Friday once in Lexington and once in
Thomasville, and then she decided she
was done with that chaotic experience.
Not everyone minds the crowds and
the excitement, though. Thomasville
resident Craig McDaniel said that he
would love to shop on Black Friday, but
he won’t be able to this year.
“I would go if I didn’t have to work,”
said McDaniels, an airplane mechanic

See PREPARE, Page 3

Purdue pushes for
Yadkin bridge
replacement funds

“I have been very hopeful ever since we put the
application in,” the govGREENSBORO — Gov. ernor said. “The North
Beverly Perdue reiter- Carolina Railroad has a
ated, during a recent visit project [for which they
to the Triad, how the state want stimulus money]
and I just simply told
leadership
them, ‘Your project is
was wholeimportant, but North
heartedly
Carolina has one project
behind the
[competing for aid from
effort to sethe federal discretionary
cure a fedfund] and that’s the I-85
eral grant
Yadkin River Bridge.’”
to pay for
One reason Perdue has
replacebeen so upbeat about the
Perdue
ment of the
state’s chances of receivbridge that
crosses the Yadkin River ing this grant is that it
has received support outon Interstate 85.
“Every member of the side of North Carolina.
“We’ve had the mayor
[N.C.] congressional delegation has signed on of Atlanta and other folks
[in support of this proj- from out-of-state weigh in
ect],” Perdue said dur- that, even though it is in
ing a recent interview at our state and that comthe Sheraton Greensboro munity (at the DavidsonRowan county line), the
At Four Seasons. “All of
our state’s [U.S.] repre- bridge is extremely imsentatives and senators portant for I-85,” she said.
agree with me that, even “It’s really a major hub for
interstate commerce up
though there
and down the
are
other
eastern seaprojects, this
board. If that
is the one we
‘It’s really a
bridge were
must concenmajor hub for
to collapse, it
trate on.”
would totally
Last Februinterstate comdecimate
ary, Perdue
merce
up
and
America’s
announced
economy.”
that
North
down the eastInterstate
Carolina had
ern seaboard.’
85 runs from
made
only
— Gov. Bev Perdue Petersburg,
one request
Va., to Montto the newly
gomery, Ala.
created fedThere
are
eral discrecurrently
no
tionary fund
— and that was $300 mil- toll booths on this heavlion to replace the Yadkin ily traveled highway, but
River Bridge. She said elected officials have said
there was $1.5 billion in privately and publicly
this fund and last week that if the federal grant is
Sen. Kay Hagan pointed not received, a toll charge
out there were already would be necessary to
$58 billion in requests help pay for a replacement
throughout the country bridge in that location. In
for assistance from this addition to replacing the
bridge on I-85, the projfund.
Despite the stiff com- ect would widen a stretch
petition for these dollars, of 6.8 miles of the interPerdue remains optimis- state in both counties
tic that North Carolina from four lanes to eight,
will be successful in its as well as improve interefforts to receive this $300
See BRIDGE, Page 3
million grant.

BY KEVIN REID

Times Correspondent

Above, children from Bobbi’s School of Dance wave
to onlookers at the annual
Christmas Parade Saturday.
At right, Susie Truell (aka
Cat in the Hat) rides with
children from Communities
in Schools on the Thomasville Times parade float. The
parade was sponsored by
the Fair Grove Lions Club.
TIMES PHOTOS/ZACH KEPLEY

Ministry offers free Thanksgiving dinner
BY KARISSA MINN
Staff Writer

His Laboring Few Ministries is
preparing for its annual Thanksgiving dinner, which serves anyone who needs a hot meal this
Thursday.
Preacher Steve, with His Laboring Few, said that people can sit
and eat the free meal at Carter
Brothers Barbecue, 2305 North
Main St. in High Point, from 11
a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday. They also
can pick up meals to go.

In addition, His Laboring Few
delivers plates to shut-ins and
the elderly who can’t come get a
meal.
“It’s something that we started
in 1993 to help people who may
not have the opportunity to have
a Thanksgiving meal, and who
may be alone,” Steve said. “We
get to minister with them, talk
with them, pray with them and
just spend time with them.”
It has since expanded into a
partnership with Carter Brothers, which opened its doors to the

Community Sponsor

ministry eight years ago and donates some of the food. The dinner will be a traditional Thanksgiving meal that includes turkey,
yams, green beans, dressing,
gravy and dessert. Steve said that
there is typically enough food on
each plate to feed two people.
“It’s just an opportunity to help
in the community, draw people
together, and share Thanksgiving
and truly be thankful for the Lord
Jesus Christ, first of all, and then

See DINNER, Page 3

Today’s Weather

Partly Cloudy
65/45

Full Forecast Page 2

What’s
Inside

Weather
Focus
Opinion
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TV Listings

Thomasville, North Carolina • Your Town. Your Times.

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2 – Thomasville Times – Tuesday, November 24, 2009

What’s
happening?
Holiday waste collection schedule

The Solid Waste Department will be
closed Nov. 26 and 27 in observance of
Thanksgiving. Garbage and Recycling
routes will be altered the following
days:
Garbage and recycling routes week of
Nov. 23-27:
• Monday will be regular schedule
• Tuesday will be regular schedule
• Wednesday and Thursday routes will
be collected Wednesday.
• Week of Nov. 30-Dec. 4
• Friday Nov. 27 route will be collected
on Monday
• Monday route will be collected Tuesday
• Tuesday route will be collected
Wednesday
• Wednesday and Thursday routes will
be collected Thursday
• Friday will be regular schedule
If items are not collected on listed
day, please leave at the curb for next day
collection

Fairgrove auction

Fairgrove Family Resource Center
will hold its annual auction on Saturday, Dec. 5 at 5 p.m. at Fair Grove Elementary School gymnasium.
A variety of items will be up for
auction, including a Dempsey Essick
painting, signed NASCAR memorablia,
furniture, gift baskets, Wake Forest basketball tickets and more. All proceeds
will benefit the center’s programs,
which assists local families in crisis.

Loose leaf collection

The City of Thomasville currently is
working to on Loose Leaf Collection.
Please rake all leaves to the curb free

of any debris (i.e. rocks, trash, limbs). If
leaves are mixed with any debris, they
will not be collected. Pursuant to solid
waste code; section 66-4; leaves should
be kept out of the street so as not to impede traffic flow.

Claxton fruit cakes
The Silver Valley Civitan Club has
over 1,000 pounds Claxton Old Fashion Fruit Cake available for sale. The
holiday treat may be obtained from any
member, several local businesses or by
calling Sales Manager Jerry Surratt at
472-1428.
One and two pound cakes are available at $3.50 per pound.
This is the 51st year that the Silver
Valley club has sold Claxton Fruit Cake
and now exceeds 73,000 pounds in total
sales. Proceeds are used for numerous
Civitan community service projecs including Project Santa Claus.

Gifts from the Heart
Fairgrove Family Resource Center is
now collecting gifts for local children
for Christmas. Residents can call the
resource center at 472-7217 to select a
child to fill their wish list. Individual
gifts of clothes and toys are also accepted. Donations can also be made to
help the resource center purchase gifts
for children of families in crisis. For
more information about the program,
call Terri Nelson at 472-7217.

Midway Christmas Parade
The Midway Christmas Parade will
be held Nov. 28 at 1 p.m. Starting at 9:30
a.m., there will be food, craft and music
on the lawn of Oak Forest Methodist
Church across from Cagney’s (formerly
Country Kitchen Rest.) The event is free
and open to the public. Midway is located on Old US Hwy 52, 10 miles north of
Lexington.

Craft event
The High Point Public Library at 901
North Main St., will host a series of free
demonstrations of fun and easy seasonal crafts on Wednesday, Dec. 2 from 10
a.m. until 5 p.m.
Many people enjoy creating handmade
decorations and gifts to share with family and friends. They are a great way to
spend quality time with loved ones and

can even be an economical way to celebrate the holidays.
Library staff will be sharing their
favorite seasonal crafts throughout the
day. Every hour a new decoration or gift
idea will be demonstrated. Several of
the crafts may be made by participants
as they follow the demonstration.
This event is free and open to the public.
For more information, call 883-3646.

Christmas crafts
Join the Davidson County Department of Senior Services Senior Dynamics program to create several different
Christmas Ornaments to hang on a
loved ones Christmas tree or your own
tree at home.
The classes will be held on Mondays,
Dec. 7, 14 and 21, from 9:30 to 11 a.m. at
the Thomasville Senior Center, located
at 211 W. Colonial Drive in suite 103. The
fee for this program is $2. All materials
will be provided.
Advance registration is required. For
more information or to register, please
call 474-2754. Deadline for registration
is Dec. 2. Space is limited, so register for
this fun and creative class today.

Luminary Service
Forest Hill Memorial Park in Lexington will hold a Luminary Service
on Dec. 5. There will be a flame burning to celebrate the lives of loved ones
cherished and missed. Donations for
each luminary will be accepted to raise
money for the American Red Cross,
West Lexington Volunteer Firemen and
Locks of Love.
For more information, call 248-5312.

Fit and Strong classes

Are you an older adult with arthritis?
Do you have stiffness or pain in your
lower back, hips, knees, ankles or feet?
Not participating in exercise regularly,
or have you NEVER exercised?
If you answered YES to any of these
questions, join Fit and Strong!. Fit
and Strong! is an award-winning, evidence-based physical activity program
developed by the University of Illinois
at Chicago, Center for Research on
Healthy Aging (CRHA) proven to benefit arthritis symptoms and promote
an active lifestyle. Join the CHRA in
partnership with the Davidson County
Department of Senior Services Senior
Dynamics program for this life-changing course.
Classes will begin on January 25 from
10:30 am to 12:00 pm and will meet every
Monday, Wednesday and Friday for a total of eight (8) weeks. Each class will
consist of exercise and arthritis/exercise education and discussion. Fee for
8 week program is $5.00. All equipment
will be provided.
To register, please call the Lexington
Senior Center at 242-2290.
Advanced registration is required.
Class size is limited, so sign up today!
Deadline for registration is January 18.
Fee due upon registration.

Support meetings

Davidson County Cancer Services, 25
W. Sixth Ave., offers “SHARE” and “Living with Cancer” support meetings every third Thursday from 1-3 p.m.
Call 249-7265 or e-mail to dccs@lexcominc.net.

Humane society meeting
Blood pressure checks
The Davidson County Department of
Senior Services Senior Dynamics program offers free bi-monthly blood pressure checks. Visit the Lexington Senior
Center at 106 Alma Owens Drive the 2nd
Tuesday of each month from 1 to 3 p.m.
and the last Friday of each month from
1 to 3 p.m. to have your blood pressure
checked. The blood pressure checks
are being provided by CareSouth Home
Care Professionals and Piedmont Home
Care. For more information, please call
the Senior Center 242-2290.

Humane Society of Davidson County meets the second Tuesday of each
month at the Bank of the Carolinas,
West Center Street, Lexington at 7 p.m.
For more information, call 248-2706.

Meeting scheduled

The Davidson County Parents of Children with Disabilities will meet on the
first Thursday of each month from 6 to
7:30 p.m. at the Lexington Library Meeting Room on South Main Street.
For more information, call Vickie at
746-4456.

Today we will see partly cloudy skies with a high
temperature of 65º, humidity of 77% and an
overnight low of 45º. The record high temperature for
today is 77º set in 1957. The record low is 21º set in
Average temperature . . . . . . .56.5º 1997. Wednesday, skies will remain partly cloudy
Average normal temperature .48.9º with a high temperature of 64º, humidity of 63% and
Departure from normal . . . . .+7.6º
an overnight low of 43º. Expect mostly sunny skies
Data as reported from Greensboro
Thursday with a high temperature of 61º.

FROM PAGE 1
BRIDGE
From page 1
changes and eliminate
sharp curves. Also two
other bridges crossing
the Yadkin River in the
area would be replaced.
The project is â&#x20AC;&#x153;shovel
readyâ&#x20AC;? and expected to be
completed in a period of
about three years.
â&#x20AC;&#x153;In order to give the
project more of a national focus, we have switched
the name of it from Yadkin River Bridge to the

I-85 Corridor Improvement Project,â&#x20AC;? Perdue
said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Secretary [Eugene]
Conti (of N.C.DOT] has
been going to Washington about twice a month
trying to push as many
buttons as he can push
for this project.â&#x20AC;?
Another stimulus federal grant that Perdue
expressed hopes in obtaining for North Carolina is the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Race to the
Top grant. A total of $4
billion will be awarded
next year to states that
show the powers that be
progressive changes in

DINNER
From page 1
for our community and fact that we
can all be together and just fellowship
together during Thanksgiving,â&#x20AC;? Steve
said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s really what Thanksgiving
is about.â&#x20AC;?
Steve estimated that between 3,500
and 3,800 people were served at last
yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Thanksgiving dinner. He expects
that they will serve more than 4,000 this
year. Nearly 400 volunteers help make
the dinner happen, either by delivering
meals or helping in the kitchen.
Volunteers began cooking 400 turkeys
last week, which were then cut into
servings and frozen. They will fix all of
the side dishes Wednesday night, mix

their education systems.
Perdue spoke of this at
the Sheraton to attendees
of the annual conference
of the N.C. School Boards
Association.
â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are very aggressively pursuing the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Race
to the Topâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; grant,â&#x20AC;? Perdue
said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We may or may not
get it, but in my mind,
North Carolina will be
chosen. To be successful, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s critical that we
are able to partner with
the superintendents, the
school board members
and the NCAE (N.C. Educators Association).â&#x20AC;?

the turkey with the gravy in a big pot,
and begin filling the to-go trays.
On Thanksgiving day, more volunteers will begin delivering the meals at
about 8:30 or 9 a.m., each visiting 10 to 15
houses and spending a little time with
the people receiving the meals. They try
to be done by 1 p.m., Steve said.
â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are thankful for all the volunteers
that have helped over the years and will
help this year,â&#x20AC;? Steve said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We look forward to being able to help a lot of people
this year.â&#x20AC;?
The process will begin again for the
ministryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s annual Christmas dinner,
which takes place at the same times on
Christmas day at Carter Brothers Barbecue.
For more information about His Laboring Few Ministries or to request a
meal delivery, call 475-2455.

Four arrested on charges of assault
TIMES STAFF REPORT

Four people from Denton were arrested Thursday for assaulting a man
with a variety of weapons.
James Donald Graves,
58, of 333 Turkey Trail
in Denton, Debora Ann
Graves, 34, and Amber
Graves, of 395 Turkey

Trail, and Jared Owens, of 1855 Lick Creek
Church Road are all facing a charge of assault
with a deadly weapon
inflicting serious injury
stemming from a Thursday altercation involving
James Donald Graves
Jr. According to a DCSO
press release, Graves Jr.
was assaulted by family
members while attempt-

ing to retrieve his son at
his fatherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s house on Turkey Trail. Graves Jr. was
treated at Thomasville
Medical Center for lacerations to his forehead and
back, as well as a concussion. A number of weapons were used during the
assault, including a metal
baseball bat, a wooden
stick, the stock of a rifle
and a piece of wood.

Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t Wait until the New Year,
ALL OF THIS CAN BE YOURS TODAY...
7,700 square foot
WELLNESS CENTER

PREPARE
From page 1
who works in Greensboro.
â&#x20AC;&#x153;In the past, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve gone for
deals on games and electronics.â&#x20AC;?
While some local residents are ambivalent
about the shopping holiday, store owners are preparing for a busy weekend.
Stephanie Chamberlin,
store manager of Peebles
in Thomasville, said that
she thinks Fridayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sales
will be comparable to
those in previous years.
â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our business has been
good, so Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m really expecting a good dayâ&#x20AC;? Chamberlin said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our sales are
usually very good, and
comparable to what is out
in the community.â&#x20AC;?
Chamberlin said Peebles will have â&#x20AC;&#x153;early birdâ&#x20AC;?
specials from 7 a.m. to 1
p.m. Friday on a variety
of items. Some toys will
be buy one, get one free,
and there will be sales on
some items from virtually every department.
Avis Brewer, owner
of Avisâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Fine Jewelry in
Thomasville, said that
she isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t sure what to expect on Friday.
â&#x20AC;&#x153;The way the economy
is, this year is kind of
unpredictable,â&#x20AC;? Brewer
said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s why weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re
doing buy one, get one
free on Friday and Satur-

day. Usually, we do it in
July and March.â&#x20AC;?
Brewer said that business has been a little
down lately, but not too
bad. She says that the
store typically gets a
boost in sales the weekend after Thanksgiving,
but those arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t the days
she expects to be busiest.
â&#x20AC;&#x153;In the jewelry business, the last two weeks
before Christmas tell the
tale,â&#x20AC;? Brewer said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;A lot

of men procrastinate,
and the last two weeks
are when they come in to
buy.â&#x20AC;?
Still, Brewer shared
Chamberlinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s optimism
about Black Friday this
year.
â&#x20AC;&#x153;I really think Friday
and Saturday will be good
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; I do,â&#x20AC;? Brewer said.
â&#x20AC;&#x153;People are out looking
for bargains, and weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve
got them.â&#x20AC;?

Due to the
Thanksgiving holiday,
the deadline for any
classiďŹ ed ad for
Thursday, November 26th
needs to be placed no later
than 12:30PM on
Wednesday November 25th.